Moscow denies talks on transferring Armenian railway concession to  Kazakhstan

ArmInfo.Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin has dismissed reports that Russia is negotiating the transfer of its management rights over Armenia's railway network to Kazakhstan. Speaking ahead of the International  Transport and Logistics Forum (ITLF), Nikitin clarified that Moscow has no intention of relinquishing its current concession.

"I can say that, firstly, we do not plan to grant any concessions to  anyone. Secondly, our colleagues and partners in Armenia have not  discussed these issues with us at the official level," Nikitin  replied when asked whether the transfer of the concession to  Kazakhstan for the management of Armenian railways is being  discussed.

He also denied the question of whether Russia and Kazakhstan had held  talks on this matter. "Of course not. We have a concession in  Armenia," the Russian Transport Minister said.

On March 26, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that  Yerevan would not object to transferring the concession for the  management of the republic's railways to a Kazakh company if an  agreement on this issue could be reached with Russia. In February,  2026, Pashinyan began raising the issue of transferring the Russian  concession to a third friendly party. He mentioned Kazakhstan, the  UAE, and Qatar as possible options. He argued that Yerevan was losing  its competitive advantages and that the railway issue should be  resolved with Russia "in a friendly, fraternal manner."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called Nikol  Pashinyan's statement that the Russian concession management of  Armenian railways creates competitive disadvantages for the Armenian  side "strange." She emphasized that the Russian operator is an entity  that does not deprive the Republic of Armenia of competitive  advantages, but, on the contrary, creates them.

Recall, that South Caucasus Railways CJSC is a 100% owned subsidiary  of Russian Railways OJSC. On February 13, 2008, a concession  agreement was signed in Yerevan between Russian Railways and the  Republic of Armenia transferring the Republic's rail transport system  to the management of South Caucasus Railways (SCR).

According to the agreement, the concession management term is 30  years, with the right to extend it for an additional 10 years after  the first 20 years of operation by mutual agreement of the parties.  SCR's responsibilities include modernizing the Republic of Armenia's  railway infrastructure, developing cooperation with Armenia's  neighboring countries, and improving domestic and international  passenger and freight service. The Company's  total investment  amounts to $572 million. SCR started its operations on June 1, 2008.